Commentry
iMedPub Journals
http://www.imedpub.com/
2016
Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Open Access
ISSN 2573-0282
Vol.1 No.2:9
DOI: 10.21767/2573-0282.100009
Measles Control in Bolivia
Dávalos Gamboa Maria del Rosario*
University of San Simon, Cochabamba, Bolivia
*Corresponding author: Dávalos Gamboa Maria del Rosario, University of San Simon, Cochabamba, Bolivia, E-mail: [email protected]
Received date: March 13, 2016; Accepted date: April 15, 2016; Published date: April 18, 2016
Citation: Dávalos Gamboa Maria del Rosario (2016) Measles Control in Bolivia. Pediatric Infect Dis 1: 9. doi: 10.21767/2573-0282.100009
Copyright: © 2016 Dávalos Gamboa Maria del Rosario. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are
credited.
Commentary
Historically the Plurinational State of Bolivia had one of the
highest mortality rates of measles among children less than 5
years of age in Latin America, since the 1970s, there was a great
effort to control the spread of measles [1]. This effort has
included training and monitoring in combination with national
immunization programs and other organizations such as the
World Health Organization, the Pan American Health
Organization. Since 1979 in Bolivia to control the disease has
been used strategy measles vaccination under the Expanded
Program on Immunization (EPI) to all children 12 to 23 months
are given a single-vivo attenu dose - vaccine ated [2], as part of
routine childhood immunization.
To maintain herd immunity and prevent outbreaks of measles,
immunization coverage rate should be between 83 to 95% [3]. In
this range, it is unlikely that the spread of measles is from
person to person. The endemicity of the disease decreases when
a high proportion of the community is a contagious disease
vaccine.
In 1992, there was the largest epidemic in the last 10 years
with the record 4,937 cases, in 1994, it carried out a national
vaccination campaign targeting children <15 years old and has
achieved a vaccination coverage of 96% [4]. In 1995 to 1997,
measles cases were reduced, while routine coverage was quite
low (<90%), there was a national epidemic in 1998 to 2000 that
involving 2,567 people, most of whom had not been vaccinated
[5]. In 1999, the second generation of PAI introduced some new
vaccines (DTP-Hib-HepB) and replaced with others, such as
measles, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), at the end of the
year, a national vaccination campaign was carried out in areas
with low coverage; there were only 122 cases confirmed with
measles in 2000 [6]. The rate of coverage of official
immunization has decreased dramatically from 99 % in 2000 to
79% in 2010 [7]. Since 2002, Bolivia has not reported any cases
of measles to the World Health Organization.
In May 2010 we made (Cristina Masuet, Maria del Rosario
Davalos and others) research, Measles in Bolivia: A“honeymoon
period”, in children aged 5-16 years in Cochabamba, Bolivia, as
conclusion, this study found a high prevalence of measles
susceptibility in Bolivian children. Thus, herd immunity may not
have been established, and some outbreak could occur.
Authorities should redress this situation before endemic
measles transmission occurs nationally and regionally and there
is an urgent need to conduct more seroprevalence studies in the
region [8]. Despite the recommendation made with the results
of this investigation, the Ministry of Health of Bolivia, in
December 2010 Bolivia sent a report to the World Health
Organization on the situation of measles in the country, in order
to get certified "Bolivia free of measles", however, the agency
asked to Bolivia vaccinate all children under 5 year.
For total control of measles in Bolivia, was made 2 vaccination
campaigns in the years 2011 and 2012, with both campaigns was
achieved 95% coverage [9], what allowed coverage to keep the
herd immunity and prevent measles outbreaks.
In 2012, the Pan American Health Organization ( PAHO)
declared free of measles virus to Bolivia considering that since
2002 to date not registered sick with measles [10]. Since 2012 it
has good coverage in vaccination dose of MMR (measles,
rubella, mumps), which protects children from measles, but
every year there are small groups of children who do not access
the doses, either by religion , culture or lack of interest [11].
Which makes unvaccinated children for any reason, are exposed
to the disease
The World Health Organization had planned, eliminate
measles in the Americas region until 2016, but produced an
outbreak in the United States in late 2014 and its expansion to
Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Chile, had to turn the health
emergency in the area of South America [12]. US one death was
reported, and if not adequate control is performed there is the
possibility that expands to everything South America.
Given the possible presence of the virus in the Bolivia after 15
years of have not confirmed any case, the Ministry of Health,
conducted a vaccination campaign on 29 November 2015
against measles, rubella and mumps called "farewell to
measles," in which it was achieved up to 85% coverage of
children between 2 and 5 years, in the country, Campaign that in
the departments of Santa Cruz and Beni could not reach the
target set by the Ministry of Health, due to weather conditions
[13]. With the threat of the spread and low achieved
immunization in this vaccination campaign, continuous
vaccination in Bolivia, especially, in the departments where it
not achievement vaccination coverage.
© Under License of Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License | This article is available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.21767/2573-0282.100009
1
Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Open Access
ISSN 2573-0282
In conclusion, at present in Bolivia there is still no certainty of
having the immunization coverage rate of 95%. Aspect by which
still exists the risk of the virus from entering the territory, there
is no total control, an outbreak could occur in not immunized
children that remain at risk of contracting this disease than in
previous years has caused the death of many infants, therefore
there is an urgent need to complete the immunization of all
children susceptible to this diseases.
2016
Vol.1 No.2:9
6.
http://www.eldeber.com.bo/santacruz/.
7.
http://www.erbol.com.bo/video/.
8.
Masuet-Aumatell C, Ramon-Torrell JM, Casanova-Rituerto
A, Banqué Navarro M, Dávalos Gamboa Mdel R, et al.
(2013) Measles in Bolivia: A 'honeymoon period'.
9.
http://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/2015/5/14/declarabolivia-libre-enfermedad-infecciosa-rubeola-56569.
Reference
10. http://www.la-razon.com/sociedad/activa-emergenciaevitar-brote-sarampion_0_2313968582.
1.
Pan American Health Organization (2002) Special Program
for Health Analysis. Health situation in the Americas: Basic
health Indicators 2002. Washington DC.
11. http://www.ultimasnoticiasbolivia.com/tag/vacuna-contrasarampion-en-bolivia/.
2.
Health in the Americas, 2002 Edition.
3.
https://secure.apha.org/imis/.
4.
http://www.vaccines.gov/basics/protection/.
5.
https://es.scribd.com/.
2
12. http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/nacional/
20150724/alerta-contra-el-sarampi%25C3%25B3n-ensanta-cruz_309481_684840.
13. http://hoyvenezuela.info/bolivia-continua-campana-devacunacion-contra-el-sarampion/.
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